Loess deposits are recorders of aeolian activity during past glaciations. Since the size distribution of loess deposits\ud depends on distance to the dust source, and environmental conditions at the source, during transport, and at deposition,\ud loess particle size distributions and derived statistical measures are widely used proxies in Quaternary\ud paleoenvironmental studies. However, the interpretation of these proxies often only considers dust transport\ud processes. To move beyond such overly simplistic proxy interpretations, and toward proxy interpretations that\ud consider the range of environmental processes that determine loess particle size distribution variations we provide\ud a comprehensive review on the physics of dust particle mobilization and deposition. Furthermore, using\ud high-resolution bulk loess and quartz grain size datasets from a last glacial/interglacial sequence, we show\ud that, because grain size distributions are affected by multiple, often stochastic processes, changes in these distributions\ud over time allow multiple interpretations for the driving processes. Consequently, simplistic interpretations\ud of proxy variations in terms of only one factor (e.g. wind speed) are likely to be inaccurate. Nonetheless\ud using loess proxies to understand temporal changes in the dust cycle and environmental parameters requires\ud (i) a careful site selection, to minimize the effects of topography and source distance, and (ii) the joint use of\ud bulk and quartz grain size proxies, together with high resolution mass accumulation rate calculations if possible

The International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) utilises benchmark chronostratigraphies to divide geologic time. The reliability of these records is fundamental to understand past global change. Here we use the most detailed luminescence dating age model yet published to show that the ICS chronology for the Quaternary terrestrial type section at Jingbian, desert marginal Chinese Loess Plateau, is inaccurate. There are large hiatuses and depositional changes expressed across a dynamic gully landform at the site, which demonstrates rapid environmental shifts at the East Asian desert margin. We propose a new independent age model and reconstruct monsoon climate and desert expansion/contraction for the last ~250 ka. Our record demonstrates the dominant influence of ice volume on desert expansion, dust dynamics and sediment preservation, and further shows that East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM) variation closely matches that of ice volume, but lags insolation by ~5 ka. These observations show that the EASM at the monsoon margin does not respond directly to precessional forcing.

Loess geochemistry generally reflects paleo-weathering conditions and it can be used to determine the average composition of the upper continental crust (UCC). In this study, major and trace element concentrations were analyzed on loess samples from southwestern Hungary to determine the factors influencing their chemical compositions and to propose new average loess compositions. All studied loess samples had nearly uniform chemical composition, suggesting similar alteration history of these deposits. Chemical Index of Alteration values (58–69) suggested a weak to moderate degree of weathering in a felsic source area. Typical non-steady state weathering conditions were shown on the Al₂O₃–CaO+Na₂O–K₂O patterns, indicating active tectonism of the Alpine–Carpathian system during the Pleistocene. Whole-rock element budgets were controlled by heavy minerals derived from a felsic magmatic or reworked sedimentary provenance. Geochemical parameters indicated that dust particles must have been recycled and well homogenized during fluvial and eolian transport processes.

Centennial-scale mineral dust peaks in last glacial Greenland ice cores match the timing of lowest Greenland temperatures, yet little is known of equivalent changes in dust-emitting regions, limiting our understanding of dust−climate interaction. Here, we present the most detailed and precise age model for European loess dust deposits to date, based on 125 accelerator mass spectrometry ¹⁴C ages from Dunaszekcső, Hungary. The record shows that variations in glacial dust deposition variability on centennial–millennial timescales in east central Europe and Greenland were synchronous within uncertainty. We suggest that precipitation and atmospheric circulation changes were likely the major influences on European glacial dust activity and propose that European dust emissions were modulated by dominant phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation, which had a major influence on vegetation and local climate of European dust source regions. Significance Atmospheric dust is a major component of climate change. However, the relationship between glacial continental dust activity and abrupt centennial–millennial-scale climate changes of the North Atlantic is poorly known. Recent advances in high-precision radiocarbon dating of small gastropods in continental loess deposits provide an opportunity to gain unprecedented insights into dust variations and its major drivers at centennial–millennial scales from a near-source dust archive. Here, we show that Late Quaternary North Atlantic temperature and dustiness in Greenland and Europe were largely synchronous and suggest that this coupling was driven via precipitation changes and large-scale atmospheric circulation.